2 Forest Fury

The sunset forest was a sight to behold, more so when dusk dawned. One could only wish to capture the beauty in their eyes forever. The green expanse of the forest felt eternal; as the desire of the human heart. The tall trees tickled the fiery skies; a fleeting touch of comfort. The sinking sun peeked through the dwindling clouds, tinting the ether amber; a rosy hue of warmth. The soothing breeze, a gentle caress; the rhythm of which, lulled one to a peaceful sleep. The quiet of the woods was not creepy but eased troubled minds.

But today...., today the dawn was amiss....., different....., the forest was definitely different. The lively green forest was shrouded in darkness. The sturdy trees appeared gnarly and dead. The sky was laden with heavy clouds and the warm sun was lost under these cold and dark folds. The wind billowed, barbarous and uncultured, tearing through the forest. The quiet of the woods was eerie if not chill inspiring.

Birds flew over the thick canopy of the sunset forest going higher, mingling into the inky sky as if sensing the danger and fleeing for their lives. It is said that birds have the same five senses humans do—sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell—but each one is specialized to help birds survive. Each of these senses is modified to sense danger. Which means that they can literally "Smell a Rat".

The flapping of wings soon faded into the thick clouds and the heavy wind billowed with more force crashing into the woods as if raging a war. The forest seemed still, as if frozen; but was it really?

~Somewhere to the west of the forest~

A decent amount of light filtered through the thick canopy of the trees dancing through the dense forest due to the swaying branches, like a dimly lit room with the light bulb swinging from the ceiling; unclearly clear. The surrounding was shrouded in an eerie silence. The twisted branches resembling figures; the ambience a perfect fit for a thrilling horror.....

*crack**thump**crash*

A figure stumbled down a low hill, rolling over the plants and landed on the rough forest bed. Professor Storm lay there, breathing heavily as he could feel his body aching from the rough fall. The thick roots sure did a number on his chest and back as he could feel the bruises forming. He could only lay there in pain and misery cursing the dean, the authorities behind him and his fate for all his misfortunes. He laid there contemplating his life choices and waiting for the pain to subside. After a few minutes his breathing calmed down and he was no longer wheezing like a dying old man. He sat on his knees struggling to stand up on his shaking legs but fell back down as he felt a sharp pain shoot up his right ankle.

'Shit. I injured my ankle.' He hissed in pain. 'I need to find a shelter first.' He thought while struggling to get back on his feet. But paused when the thought of finding a shelter crossed his mind.

'I must have really hit my head hard', he thought, 'that I am even thinking of finding a shelter in the middle of nowhere.' He snorted, shaking his head at his own stupidity. After struggling for quite some while, he couldn't stand the pain anymore and decided to rest there for sometime. Closing his eyes he made himself comfortable, well as comfortable as one can get in a forest. Sighing heavily, he leaned on a jagged tree as a sense of calmness descended over the forest. Despite his calm demeanor, his heart was still stuffy with anxiousness and nervousness. After all, he was unaware of his surroundings, it was only natural that he was anxious if not terrified. Sitting in silence, he thought about what led him to this situation today. It was really weird how at such a time he thought back to his mother's words. When he decided to become a professor at Millenium, his mother was strictly against the notion, which led to their first fight in forever. He couldn't understand why his mother would be so against his job. She said she didn't wanted him to gain attention. Well, if she was talking about another number of mockers then she was right but it was not like they made a difference. Their addition was just like a drop in a vast ocean; insignificant. People mocked and belittled him before and they still do so. They thought that he was a fledgling trying to fly too high.

Aiden Storm might be a prodigy but he wasn't the privileged one. He never knew who or where his father was. For as long as he can remember he had only had his mother by his side. No relatives or friendly aunties, nothing. It has always been him and his mom against the big wide world. Despite being a single mother, his mother never made him feel lonely. She was always there for him, as a mother, father, sister, friend, whoever he needed, she made sure that he never felt the absence of a family. She was a biologist and despite her hectic schedule she made sure to spend the weekends and holidays with him and cook her food or wake him up and tuck him to bed. She always had time for him. It was her who inspired him to take up zoology apart from his love for nature and animals. Spending hours in her workplace, when she couldn't leave him home alone gave him a peek into her job and how interesting it was. She loved him a lot despite their differences on his job and he loved her the same.

He chuckled as he recalled those good old days, how carefree he was, nothing to worry about. Floating through the memories, his body slowly relaxed against the tree as he dozed of, living those happy days with his mother again. When he woke up after a few hours, the forest seemed darker and eerier than before. He looked around groggily, trying to adjust to his surroundings. He moved his legs trying to stand up when a sharp pain shot through his right leg, reminding him of the injury that he sustained in his ankle. He moved his leg slowly bringing his ankle closer to his body in order to wrap it up with a handkerchief. He touched around his ankle only to find it heavily swollen and let out a tired and pained sigh. 'It seems I really broke something this time.' He slowly tightened the cloth around his ankle hissing in pain. 'Why did I agree to this stupid project again..!? Oh yes, cause I wasn't given a choice in the first place. ouch...ugh it hurts.....Oh God...' He cursed and moaned in pain as the cloth dug into the swollen skin, it really hurt like a female dog.

After sitting still for a few minutes and levelling his breathing, he again tried to get up, struggling to gain a footing on the uneven floor. Picking up his backpack he stumbled forward, struggling to keep his right foot above the ground, he slowly hopped a few steps, all the while maintaining a tight hold on the nearby trees leaning heavily on them to keep his balance. He took out a flashlight which luckily didn't break from his fall and switched it on moving it around, trying to find a decent and remotely even path, through which he can move ahead. He finally found one on his left. The path didn't have many roots coming out of it and even seemed to have been used. Now who used it, Aiden didn't want to go deeper in that thought, lest he couldn't move from fear. He slowly hopped down the path, the torch light hopping ahead of him due to his movement. He wasn't sure about the time, but seeing the thick darkness, he believed it was night already and it was better to find a safe place to rest rather than roaming the forest. As he moved ahead, the trees got relatively thinner and there were not too many roots sticking off the ground. Despite these, the forest was still quite dense, just the moonlight was more visible than before, invading the canopy more freely.

Time passed as Aiden hopped through the woods, the trees thinning the further he moved. He had no sense of time as his phone was discharged and he didn't care to bring a watch along. He could have been walking for hours or just minutes, he didn't knew. He leaned against a tree, panting heavily. Last 36 hours had been quite exhausting for him and along with his injury, everything was now taking a toll on him. He could feel his body getting heavier as he slid down the tree. He could feel the throbbing of his ankle as the numbing pain travelled through his leg. He had never been a big fan of camping or hiking, actually anything that remotely involved physical activity just appalled him. His body had never gone through such torture and he can clearly feel it protesting. He was quite serious about this report when he first entered the forest, recording every single detail he considered important but every hour he spent in here, he started cursing everyone out there.

'I swears I really like flora and fauna but when I am covered in mud and sweat with leaves stuck in my hair and holes in my clothes, for don't know how many hours I really can't bring myself to like even himself let alone nature, the very cause of this mess.' He sat there against the tree, trying to regain some energy to move ahead. His eyes were becoming heavy as if he would pass out any second. He shook his head trying to stay conscious but it only made his vision fuzzier. While struggling to stay awake he heard a faint sound of water. He wasn't sure if his mind was playing tricks on him as he was really thirsty or the sound was real as it seemed to disappear a second later. He brushed it off as his mind playing tricks on him. 'Now, even my own brain is mocking me, great. Just great.' He sat there in silence trying to gain some sense of the situation when he again heard the sound of water. 'Again, am I really in such a bad condition that I am having illusions now.' He leaned his body towards the sound. 'It will disappear again just like the first time. I am really losing my mind, huh.' A few seconds passed but the sound was still there, he could still hear the flowing water, even though it was so faint, but it was real.

'Is there really a water body around here. But with the sound, if it is too far away, I might not even reach it before collapsing. Should I give it a try?' He was not sure if he would be able to reach there before collapsing. After contemplating for some time, he decided to look for the source, either way he would collapse in some time but if he could get some water into his system, maybe the situation won't be so bad. He again struggled to his feet, putting all his weight on his left leg and supporting himself on the tree se started dragging his body towards the sound. After a couple of hops, his body dangerously swayed. He tightened his hold on the tree as a shaking sigh left his lips. 'That was close. I really need to be careful.' He slowly moved towards the sound. His body became heavier with the passing minutes. The only assurance was that the sound was also getting clearer. 'It is a waterfall.' Aiden exclaimed. He didn't expect to see one so deep in the forest but who was he to complain as long as he can stay awake he doesn't mind even if a town was situated in the middle of this place. As the sound became clearer and higher, Aiden also became excited and his movements became hasty. 'Finally, something good. Just a little more. Just a little. Almost there.'

After a few minutes a hobbling figure stumbled through some thick bushes. Aiden had a giddy smile plastered on his face. He could feel the temperature drop as he entered the clearing. It was different from the stuffy and humid forest. It was cooler. He could feel the cool air enveloping his body. A shiver ran down his spine as some air touched his skin through the holes in his clothes. He slowed down his movements as he slowly approached the giant waterfall in front of him. The sight was mesmerizing as the water glittered under the moonlight.

All the excitement was now leaving his system as the adrenaline rush he felt was starting to vanish too. He could feel his body swaying, his vision blurred as he came down the adrenaline high. 'Two... two waterfalls..', he chuckled, wasn't he lucky. 'Almost there, a little more and I can stop this burning in my throat.' His knees hit the ground heavily. 'A little more.' The pain from his ankle pushed to the back of his mind as the smell of sweet water overwhelmed him. His body followed as he laid there on the cool tender grass. 'Almost...there...' His breathing slowed as seconds passed. 'I really want to rest..so badly... Maybe, a little rest won't harm right. I can have some water after I wake up, my throat really feels sore. And then I can continue moving and meet the rangers. Rangers..., yeah there were supposed to be rangers here, weren't they, who would help me with the report. But where are they?? I have been walking for miles now and didn't find a single soul here not even an animal. Am I that scary...,nahh.., sweet little me..mhmm... But on another note where in hell are those damned rangers ugh.. Ah.. is that a rabbit. No, it's too big. A doggie... Nopes. still too big... then what..?? Aha Mr. Wolfy... it's you. Wait wait wolf eats meat and I am a piece of meat, after applying the formula it gives wolf eats ME?? and this one seems to be glaring at me?? You can do that? Yes. Is this bad for me? Yes. Should I run? Yes. Can I run? No. Fudge my life.'

~Blackout~